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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 5 · Chapter 12: Conversation Between Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata
5.12.95.12.11

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.12.10

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The self-realized brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharatasince 5.12.5-6inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitJaḍa Bharata → King Rahūgaṇa

एवं कृशं स्थूलमणुर्बृहद्यद्

असच्च सज्जीवमजीवमन्यत् ।

द्रव्यस्वभावाशयकालकर्म-

नाम्नाजयावेहि कृतं द्वितीयम् ॥ १० ॥

evaṁ kṛśaṁ sthūlam aṇur bṛhad yad

asac ca saj jīvam ajīvam anyat

dravya-svabhāvāśaya-kāla-karma-

nāmnājayāvehi kṛtaṁ dvitīyam

Translation

Since this universe has no real ultimate existence, the things within it — shortness, differences, grossness, skinniness, smallness, bigness, result, cause, living symptoms, and materials — are all imagined. They are all pots made of the same substance, earth, but they are named differently. The differences are characterized by the substance, nature, predisposition, time and activity. You should know that all these are simply mechanical manifestations created by material nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All Causes

  1. 1

    The temporary varieties within this material world are creations of material nature under different circumstances. Like pots made of earth, they receive different names.

  2. 2

    Covered by illusion, the living entity takes credit for material creations. Actually, material nature works through the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate cause of all causes. Everything rests on the potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the shelter of everyone.

Key points from the purport
  • Actually all these are being created automatically by the material force set in motion by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Therefore the ultimate cause is the Supreme Person.
  • The actual protectress is the material nature, but Viṣṇu is her Lord.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 2

The purport of SB 5.12.10 quotesBG 3.27

This is described in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27), ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate: due to being covered by the illusory external energy, the living entity tries to take credit for the differentiated creations within the material world.

The purport of SB 5.12.10 quotesBG 14.27

Lord Viṣṇu is the resting place of the entire creation: brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Misjudgment → Humility and insight. Spiritual insight hides behind social appearances.

Chapters 10–14 of Canto 5: Jaḍa Bharata instructs Rahūgaṇa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: Conversation Between Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Everything in the material world is but a transformation of the earth, although things have different names according to their transformations. Actually the varieties are one and the same, and ultimately all these varieties are vanquished into atoms.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. evamthus
  2. kṛśamskinny or short
  3. sthūlamfat
  4. aṇuḥtiny
  5. bṛhatbig
  6. yatwhich
  7. asatimpermanent
  8. caand
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.12

    In this verse: “materials”, “illusion”, “material”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 5.12

    In this verse: “shelter”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When do I take full credit without recognizing the Supreme Lord as the ultimate cause?

Practice

Look at one material object today and pause to remember that its existence ultimately rests on the Lord’s potencies.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All CausesThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 5.12.10? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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